RLA: National Aggregator of University Research Capability Data

The Challenge

A comprehensive national tool is lacking for identifying research expertise, capabilities and partnership track records across Australian industries and universities. This challenge is significant for several reasons:

1. data fragmentation – while relevant research activity data exists, it is currently disaggregated and primarily focused on research grant funding
2. limited accessibility – the information is distributed and not easily accessible through a consolidated national tool, hindering its potential use and impact
3. ineffective delivery – the current data delivery methods fail to meet the needs of Australian businesses and government entities looking for a convenient one stop reference tool.

This situation is problematic as it impedes the realisation of the full social and economic benefits that could be derived from being able to identify and access research capabilities within Australian universities. The absence of a unified system works against fostering collaborative partnerships and maximising the potential of Australia’s research ecosystem.

By addressing these issues, the project aims to create a more interconnected and efficient research landscape, ultimately driving innovation and economic growth in Australia.

The Response

Leveraging the ARDC Research Link Australia (RLA) platform, this project is being piloted to develop an efficient and effective data transmission methodology that other Australian universities can adopt in the future. It is designed to promote, showcase, and encourage sharing and reuse of data on research capabilities (e.g. research projects, expertises) across the broader research ecosystem by leveraging coordinated efforts and connections within the funded research and development sector.

The RLA’s primary objective is to create a comprehensive, standardised and shared research capability information platform that connects researchers and innovators. This initiative includes developing methodologies for sharing research capability data between organisations and providing an information infrastructure to support the development and operation of other platforms and services. The RLA will serve as a valuable information aggregation and dissemination facility.

In this partnership project, participating universities will collaborate on developing shared tools related to the appropriate use of the RLA dataset. This collaboration will significantly enhance the value proposition for universities by not only increasing the visibility of their research and industry activities but also by deriving new and diverse analytical insights from the consolidated data.

This partnership project’s primary goal is to validate the use of commercially available off-the-shelf software as an effective and efficient method for gathering, transmitting, and utilising data. This approach will help build the foundations and value of the RLA platform, which is intended to become the Australian university-industry collaboration data portal. The data foundations will be constructed from existing research funding data sourced from the three partner universities.

While data could potentially be collected from any university within the Australian research sector, this specific project will focus on information provision supported by and driven by the partner universities. Each institution will make independent decisions regarding the exposure of their institutional profiles and the information transferred from their funding management solutions.

Who Will Benefit

By increasing the visibility and accessibility of research funding information, this project will create a more interconnected and efficient research landscape. It will provide significant value to a diverse range of stakeholders, including: 

• industry and government entities seeking to identify research expertise
• universities aiming to establish new partnerships
• researchers pursuing cross-sector collaborations.

All stakeholders interested in utilising university research expertise and activity data to better structure collaborative activities will greatly benefit from this project.

• University research officers will benefit from streamlined workflow, reduced administrative burden and enhanced research funding data insights.
• University researchers will have increased exposure of expertise, which can lead to greater opportunities for collaboration, funding and impact.
• University senior management could get strategic insights for decision making and resource allocation.
• Government policy makers could get insight on industry research activity with universities.

As the developer of the RLA platform, the ARDC could benefit from: 

• tested methods for data delivery from universities
• solutions designed to facilitate university participation in RLA platform and service
• enhanced ability to identify and mitigate risks associated with university participation in RLA
• enriched and enhanced data for RLA
• development of a business case to facilitate new user access to RLA.

Our Partners

• Digital Science
• Griffith University
• Southern Cross University
• University of Technology Sydney

Target Outcomes

This project aims to:

• establish shared informatics standards and data linking standard protocols using the Open Research and Contributors ID (ORCID)
• develop a trusted platform for secure information sharing between research and industry
• create a dependable national information infrastructure for research-private sector collaboration, based on international best practices
• provide shared tools for interacting with and exploring RLA data
• implement a streamlined method for universities to share research data with the RLA national platform
• compile a collection of use cases and lessons learned from RLA data application in university settings
• formulate recommendations for the nationwide implementation and expansion of RLA data. 

These outcomes will collectively enhance data sharing, collaboration and utilisation of RLA data in research and industry contexts.

Key Resource

• Visit Research Link Australia.